European markets closed lower on Friday after a rocky start to 2025 for stocks around the world.
The Stoxx 600 index closed 0.49% lower, losing most of Thursday's gains as sectors pulled back.
Autos stocks were among the worst performers, down 1.79%, while travel and leisure stocks shed 1.62%. One of the few sectors to rise was financial services, with stocks last seen 0.4% higher.
Oil and gas stocks also rose over 1%, led by gains for Finnish oil refiner Neste, which climbed 4.8% on reports of a series of new airline fuel contracts.
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At the other end of the Stoxx 600, Stellantis was down 3.8% after the Italian carmaker reported a 45.7% reduction in car production in 2024 — its lowest output since 1956, according to Reuters.
U.S. stocks opened higher following a choppy start to 2025 which marked the fifth consecutive session of declines for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite.
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed overnight, with Chinese stocks extending declines as investors assessed policy signals from Beijing, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index and South Korean markets were both in positive territory.
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On the data front, Turkey's consumer price index fell to 44.38% on an annual basis in December, down from 47.09% in November. Economists had expected inflation to fall to 45.2%, according to a Reuters poll.
A flash reading of the Polish consumer price index reflected a 4.8% increase in December on an annual basis, also below a Reuters forecast.
Meanwhile, the German federal labor office said the number of unemployed people increased by 33,000 to 2.807 million in December compared to the previous month. The unemployment rate edged 0.1% higher to 6%, the agency added.
